1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to devices for the transportation of infants and, more specifically, to car bed devices for the vehicular transportation of infants having special medical needs.
2. The Prior Art
The medical community has long recognized the unique transportation needs of low weight infants, particularly premature infants. The smaller size of the preterm infant and attendant risk of cardiorespiratory compromise have necessitated the development of alternative transportation devices.
Traditional devices, such as conventional rear facing child restraints (hereinafter referred to as "RF child restraints"), have been found deficient in meeting the unique needs of the premature infant because, in general, such conventional products are designed for a larger child. More particularly, a deficiency in conventional RF child restraints is because their use requires that the infant be placed in an upright or semi-upright position. Established medical opinion recommends transporting the preterm infant in a child restraint that allows for a prone or supine position.
A second deficiency in existing RF child restraints lies with the restraint systems or harness configurations used therein. Such restraint systems typically incorporate a buckle, clasp, or other rigid element as a connective device. The potential for harm to a smaller sized infant from confrontation against a buckle or a clasp is considerable.
Finally, commercially available RF child restraints are inadequate in meeting the needs of the preterm low weight infant in that they are not designed or recommended for use in a front seat environment. Because upright RF child restraints have a relatively high profile, its use on the front seat of a car carries a risk of injury to the child from the deployment of airbags. However, in the case of the premature infant, it is often necessary for the driver to maintain visual contact with the infant during transportation in order to monitor the infant's respiratory condition. This creates a safety dilemma, forcing a choice between the risk of injury to the child from deployment of the air bag against the risk of injury from placing the infant on the rear seat, out of visual contact with the driver.
The market has attempted to address the above-described needs of the premature infant by the development of car beds, designed to maintain a child in a prone or supine position within the vehicle. Such attempts to achieve an acceptable commercial product have only been partially successful. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,115,523 and 5,092,004 teach an infant car bed that is representative of the state of the art. While the car bed described therein is an improvement over the use of conventional RF child restraints in that it allows the child to be positioned in a prone or supine position, it still does not represent an ideal solution to the needs of the preterm infant.
A first problem typlified by the product disclosed in the above-identified patents is that the car bed is designed to be convertible, providing both an upright RF child restraint or a reclining car bed. Such versatility, at first glance, may seem to be advantageous to the purchaser. However, incorporating convertibility adds considerably to the cost of the end product and results in a product that does not optimally meet the needs of the user in either of the two positions.
A second deficiency found in available car beds is that they are too large to fit a conventional front vehicle bucket seat and the face of an infant positioned therein is not readily visible to a driver. The opportunity to maintain visual surveillance is important in order to detect respiratory problems that may develop. A related deficiency in the state of the art car beds is that they provide inadequate ventilation to the child positioned therein.
Moreover, such car beds utilize harness mechanisms that incorporate the same deficiencies described above with respect to car seats, namely, a hard clasp or buckle is used that can harm the low weight infant. The performance of existing car beds in a collision can further be compromised because the attachment point of such car beds is not compatible with existing vehicle restraint belts. This can cause the bed to move forward to an unsafe degree when subject to the influence of impact forces. Another deficiency is that existing car beds have a generally perpendicular forward sidewall. In a crash, impact forces tend to force the child forward into the forward wall. The impact against a forward vertical wall can be traumatic.
Finally, while conventional car beds afford the user the option of placing the infant in either a prone or supine position, they do not offer a third option; that of positioning the child on one side. When under respiratory duress, it is often advantageous to transport a premature child on one side in order to free the chest area. However, placing a child in such a position in conventional car beds is not possible and can even be dangerous since such devices lack a restraint system for maintaining the infant in an on-side position.